Saturday 26 Sep 1818 (p. 3, col. 5-6) SCOTLAND. LATE on Friday night, or early on Saturday morning last, the shop of Mr. John YOUNG, Grocer, in Dornock, was broken into, and some cash, tobacco, and other articles, carried off. The thieves have not yet been discovered. The instruments employed in breaking the wall were the tooth of a harrow and a bolt of iron, which they had wrested from a gate belonging to the Rev. N. SLOAN. The following Latin inscription, written in elegant Sapphic verse, is copied from an ancient tombstone in the Church yard of Dornock:— "Here lyes William ALLISON, late Minister at Dornock, who dyed September 27, Anno Domini 1683, ætatis 63. Integram vitam, scelerisque puram, Degit, et cordi fuit ore verbum, A Deo dictum, populo dicare, Nomine Christi. Virtus ast mentis, pietas, honestas, Non valent, fluxam stabilire vitam;— Fluxit, A corpus, sociâ beatâ, * Conditur humo. Sic transit Gloria mundi!" * Alluding to his wife, who was interred in the same grave. JEDBURGH, Sept. 16.—The Circuit Court of Justiciary was opened here this day, by the Right Hon. DOUGLAS, Lord Reston, one of the Lords Commissioners of Justiciary.—William RENWICK, horse-dealer, in Bewcastle, Cumberland, accused of horse stealing, was put to the bar, and pleaded Not Guilty. The indictment stated that RENWICK having, on the 6th day of August last, sold a poney to John HARPER, cattle-dealer in Hawick, entreated him to allow him to ride that poney, or another horse, to Galashiels; that Mr. HARPER consented to allow him to ride a bay mare, provided he did not go off a walk with her, and sent along with him a boy, to whom he committed the charge and custody of the mare; and that RENWICK, after proceeding with the mare all that distance from Darnick, attended by the boy, suddenly started away, and absconded with her. The usual interlocutor of relevancy having been pronounced, and the libel remitted to an assize, the prosecutor proceeded to lead evidence in support of it; but having failed to prove that the mare had been put under the charge of the boy, or rather, as it appeared, that RENWICK had been intrusted with her himself as far as Galashiels, and the boy had only been sent to bring her back from thence, and as it farther appeared that RENWICK's intentions were fair at the outset, the prosecutor gave up the case after adducing two witnesses.—Verdict, Not Guilty. After receiving a proper admonition from his Lordship, for the indiscretion and breach of trust he had been guilty of, RENWICK was dismissed from the bar. Court of Justiciary, Dumfries.—On Monday last, the Circuit Court was opened at Dumfries, by Lords Hermand and Reston. Margaret SWEENY, or SWINEY, was charged with stealing a web of linen, in the parish of Kirkcudbright, in May last, from A. CHARTERS, and found guilty—transported for 14 years. Janet HANNAH, charged with concealing her pregnancy, and murdering her child. The prisoner pleaded guilty of the concealment, but denied the murder. 12 months imprisonment in Kirkcudbright tolbooth. Jane THOMPSON, of the parish of Rerwick, charged with the same offence as the preceding prisoner. She also pleaded guilty to the minor offence, and was sentenced to six months imprisonment. Jane RAE, of the parish of Cumbertrees, was indicted on the same charge, and pleaded not guilty, but her trial was postponed on account of the absence of witnesses. William THORBURN, charged with stealing a watch from Mr. James PARKER, innkeeper, of Twynholm, was acquitted. Thomas JOHNSTONE, accused of theft and housebreaking, was acquitted in consequence of a flaw in the indictment. John HALLIDAY, prisoner in the jail of Dumfries, accused of attempting to set fire to the farm-house of Revox, in the parish of Moffat, the residence of his wife, on the 29th of January last, was next put to the bar. This was rather a curious case:—The pannel has long exhibited marks of insanity, and was for some months confined in the Bedlam of the Dumfries and Galloway Infirmary. On being discharged from this place of confinement, he departed for Glasgow, but was apprehended on the warrant of a justice of peace, and brought back to Dumfries-shire, after having been only a few hours in that city. But having again run away to Glasgow, he called on Baillie Wm. THOMPSON, an old acquaintance, who introduced him to a Mr. EDMONSTONE, a friend of his, as a proper person to show him the town, who accordingly took him to the Glasgow Lunatic Asylum, "as the best place for having an extensive view," where he was detained, till the 20th Dec. 1817. It is not uncommon, we believe, in case of mental alienation, for the malady of the patient to turn on a single point, but HALLIDAY's crotchet, it appears, is rather an unlucky one—namely, that of a deep-rooted aversion and hatred to his wife, a most respectable woman, whom he formerly loved tenderly, and with whom he lived very happily for many years. In consequence of these circumstances, the friends of HALLIDAY attempted to cognosce him in May last, before the sheriff of Dumfries-shire, but failed in the attempt, as the jury found eight to seven that although there was evidence of insanity at the time he attempted to set fire to Revox, there was no proof that his mind was disordered at the time of trial. This verdict having freed the pannel from the controul of his relations, he was continued in prison, upon a warrant at the instance of the public prosecutor, for the crime of wilful fire-raising. It was, of course, this charge alone that brought HALLIDAY into the Justiciary Court, and the facts connected with this part of his history will be best collected from the depositions of the witnesses.—Joseph CLARK, stocking-maker in Moffat, deposed, that he is acquainted with Mr. HALLIDAY, the pannel. Remembers having seen him at Moffat in the beginning of January last, when he asked witness to accompany him to Revox the next day, where he wished his assistance, or at least his presence, whilst he attempted to recover some receipts and other documents. He accordingly followed him to Revox the next day, when he was introduced to five men who had come on the same errand. The pannel having by some means obtained the keys, took some bonds from a chest of drawers, and then desired him and the other men to set about removing the drawers, with several other articles out of the house, which they refused to do. Mr. HALLIDAY then went out, and in a short time returned into the kitchen, from which he carried off a lighted peat with a pair of tongs. Witness asked him what he was going to do with the lighted peat? when he answered it was none of his business. Witness followed him into a garret-room, where he put the burning peat into a tub, amongst some straw, and upon being spoken to as to the folly and danger of his conduct, he turned to witness with the tongs in his hand, and in rather a threatening manner, dared him to intercept him. Witness being rather intimidated by this strange conduct, went down stairs to procure the assistance of the other men. Having found John RENWICK and George PROUDFOOT, two of the other men, they returned to the bottom of the stairs, when they saw the pannel standing at the top with the tongs in his hand, threatening any one who dared to ascend. In the meantime, Walter ANDERSON, farm servant at Revox, who had seen the smoke, and heard that HALLIDAY was attempting to set fire to the house, having procured a ladder, entered by a sky-light into another garret; and witness saw nothing farther until he beheld ANDERSON and HALLIDAY lying at the bottom of the stairs: the former being uppermost. Witness then assisted in tying pannel's legs with a rope, who made little resistance. He was afterwards unbound upon his promising to return peaceably to Moffat, which he did. Witness did not go up stairs again, and saw nothing farther. He is of opinion that pannel was not in his right mind at the time, and ascribes his extraordinary conduct to this cause. In the neighbourhood it was generally understood that he was insane, and this is the reason none of the men would obey him in removing the furniture.—George PROUDFOOT, carpenter in Moffat, being sworn, corroborated the evidence of the preceding witness in every particular. He also stated some new facts. When witness and the rest of the men declined removing the furniture, the pannel said he had brought six men to help him to do that, and now they refused. To this the men answered, that they had come to witness the recovery of his papers, and not to carry away furniture. Witness assisted in extinguishing the fire in the garret; thinks the pannel is an insane person, and one whom it is unsafe to leave to his own guidance. In returning to Moffat, he avowed his object in carrying away a burning coal, and said he was authorised to burn the house by a lawyer in Dumfries, as there was no other way of rooting out the family. (Loud laughing.) He also spoke of planting a cannon for the purpose of battering down the house.—The case being perfectly clear, and the fact of the prisoner's insanity undeniable, neither Mr. HOPE, the public prosecutor, nor Mr. MAITLAND, the pannel's counsel, deemed it necessary to address the Court; and Lord Reston, in shortly charging the Jury, stated, as the probable result of their verdict, that HALLIDAY would either be imprisoned for life, or handed over to his friends, upon their binding themselves to be responsible for the regularity and inoffensiveness of his conduct.—HALLIDAY was, however, again brought to the bar on Tuesday, when he was ordered to be detained in the Jail of Dumfries, until surety be found to the extent of £200, that he shall be kept in such custody as to prevent him from doing harm either to himself or the public.—Here the criminal business ended. Melancholy Accident.—On Saturday last, as a little boy, about seven years old, son of William FRASER, in the parish of Morton, was playing on the banks of the Nith, at Rosehill, near Thornhill, he unfortunately fell in and was drowned. The body was some time after seen to float past Blackwood, but although the most diligent search has been made, no further trace of it can be discovered. Dumfries and Galloway Horticultural Society.—Thursday week, being the sixth Anniversary Meeting of the Dumfries and Galloway Horticultural Society, a very fine show of fruit was produced in the Trades'-hall, when premiums were awarded—For the best Apples, to W. MOFFAT, gardener to P. JOHNSTONE, Esq. Carnsalloch; second best do. to James WEBSTER, gardener to J. H. MAXWELL, Esq. Munshes.—Best Pears, to J. ADAMSON, gardener to D. H. CRAIK, Esq. Arbigland; second best do. to J. WEBSTER, gardener, Munshes.—Best Plums, to ditto; second best do. to J. ADAMSON, gardener, Arbigland.—Best Peaches, to do.—Best Grapes, to J. WEBSTER, Munches;—and a Medal to Mrs. SINCLAIR, for best home-made Wine.—A basket of three kinds of Cape brocoli and three kinds of onions, all of very superior quality, was produced by J. ADAMSON, gardener, Arbigland, for which a premium was awarded. James BOGIE, gardener to Mrs. MAXWELL, Terraughtie, produced one dozen of the fine new apple formerly named by the Society the Terraughtie pear main. The tree was found a few years ago in a hedgerow at Terraughtie, and was transplanted into the garden; grafts have been taken from it, and the apple is now very much improved in size and beauty; the weight, in general, is 6½ oz. and measures 9 inches by 10½ inches in girth. A medal was awarded to the gardener last year by the Caledonian Horticultural Society; it was thought one the finest new apples yet produced in Scotland.—The following office-bearers were chosen for the ensuing year;—President—His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry.—Vice-Presidents—The Marquis of Queensberry; Admiral Sir Wm. JOHNSTONE HOPE, M. P.; D. H. CRAIK, Esq. of Arbigland; Peter JOHNSTONE, Esq. of Carnsalloch; J. Herries MAXWELL, Esq. of Munshes; Peter LAWRIE, Esq. of Ernespie.—Council or Committee of Management, and Judges of the Prize articles—Sir R. LAWRIE, Bart, of Maxwelltown; William BAILLIE, Esq. Sheriff-substitute; John SYME, Esq. of Ryedale; Wm. MILLER, Esq.; John HANNAH, Esq.; Mr. Adam RANKINE; Mr. C. SMITH; Messrs. John LARMONT, sen. Wm. MOFFAT, John ADAMSON, James KENNEDY, Thos. M'KEN, Arch. WILSON, James BOGIE, gardeners.—Secretary—Mr. W. GRIERSON.—Assistant-Secretary—Mr. Robert IRVING.—Treasurer—Mr. John BARKER.—Chaplain—The Rev. Mr. WIGHTMAN.